“Ecosystem Services:
1. Purification of air and water
2. Mitigation of floods and droughts
3. Detoxification and decomposition of wastes
4. Generation and renewal of soil and soil fertility
5. Pollination of crops and natural vegetation
6. Control of the vast majority of agricultural pests
7. Dispersal of seeds and translocation of nutrients
8. Maintenance of biodiversity, from which humanity has derived key elements of its agricultural, medicinal and industrial enterprise
9. Protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays
10. Partial stabilization of climate
11. Moderation of temperature extremes and the force of winds and waves
12. Support of diverse human cultures
13. Providing of aesthetic beauty and intellectual stimulation that lift the human spirit”
Nature’s Services; Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems
©TOLN 2002
5/17/02
